DUBLIN (CelebrityAccess) — Shane MacGowan, the former lead singer and key songwriter for the Irish punk band The Pogues, died on November 30th. He was 65.
His passing was announced by a statement from his family, who said: “It is with the deepest sorrow and heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of our most beautiful, darling and dearly beloved Shane MacGowan. Shane died peacefully at 3.30 am this morning (30 November, 2023) with his wife and sister by his side. Prayers and the last rites were read during his passing.”
A cause of death was not provided, but MacGowan had health struggles in recent years and was hospitalized in July for a serious infection. He was also restricted to a wheelchair following a serious fall in 2015 that left him with a fractured pelvis.
Known for his deft lyricism and growling, often off-key singing voice, MacGowan and the Pogues helped to revitalize Celtic music in the 1980s, fusing traditional Irish folk standards with modern punk sensibilities.
Born in the London suburb of Pembury to Irish parents, MacGowan attended the British public Westminster School with a full scholarship until he was expelled in his second year for drug possession.
He became a minor celebrity in the UK punk scene in 1976 before ever taking the stage as a musician when he was photographed with injuries following London show by The Clash, making the local papers along with the bombastic headline, “Cannibalism at Clash Gig.”
In 1976, MacGowan co-founded the punk band The Nipple Erectors, AKA The Nips along with bassist/songwriter Shanne Bradley, guitarist/artist Roger Towndrow and drummer Adrian Fox. The band was a minor success, releasing several singles and one album before their breakup in 1980.
Following the dissolution of The Nips, MacGowan along with Jem Finer, Peter “Spider” Stacy, and James Fearnley formed the Celtic punk band Pogue Mahone (a transliteration of the Irish Gaelic póg mo thóin – kiss my ass) which was later shortened to The Pogues to appease British radio censors.
The group performed in and around London, gaining a reputation for their raucous live performances and on the strength of early singles such as “Dark Streets of London” and a take on the Irish standard “Waxies Dargle” which became popular video on the British music show The Tube.
After signing with Stiff Records, the band released their debut album, Red Roses for Me, and went on tour, opening for The Clash.
In 1985, with an expanded lineup, The Pogues released their breakthrough album “Rum, Sodomoy & The Lash” which mixed traditional standards such as “The Gentleman Soldier” and “I’m a Man You Don’t Meet Every Day” with new material that put MacGowan’s songwriting abilities front and center, including tracks such as “The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn” and “The Old Main Drag.”
The Pogues followed the success of “Rum Sodomy & The Lash” with their 1986 album “If I Should Fall From Grace Of God” which included the Christmas duet between MacGowan and Kirsty MacColl, “Fairytale of New York,” which peaked at No. 1 in the Irish charts and No. 2 in the British charts in 1987.
Despite their initial success, The Pogues were hindered by MacGowan’s addictions, both to alcohol and heroin and their 1989 album “Peace & Love” saw the band begin to shift songwriting duties to other members of the group, including Jem Finer, Terry Woods, and Phil Chevron.
Their live performance became increasingly erratic as well, with MacGowan failing to turn up for the opening dates of their 1988 tour of America and ultimately resulting in MacGowan being fired from the band after a drunken performance in Yokohama in 1991.
Following his departure from The Pogues, MacGowan formed a new band, The Popes, recording two albums and touring extensively in the UK and Ireland for several years.
In 2001, he rejoined The Pogues and continued to perform with them over the next decade, touring with the band until 2014.
Along with The Pogues, MacGowan also appeared with his side project, The Shane Gang and made regular guest appearances alongside bands and artists such as Babyshambles, The Pretenders, and Nick Cave.
MacGowan’s accolades include a Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by Irish President Michael D. Higgins in 2018 to mark MacGowan’s 60th birthday, as well as an Ivor Novello Inspiration Award, which was also presented to him in 2018.
Following the news of MacGowan’s passing, Higgens paid tribute to the late punk icon.
“Shane will be remembered as one of music’s greatest lyricists. So many of his songs would be perfectly crafted poems, if that would not have deprived us of the opportunity to hear him sing them,” Higgins said in a statement on Thursday. “The genius of Shane’s contribution includes the fact that his songs capture within them, as Shane would put it, the measure of our dreams – of so many worlds, and particularly those of love, of the emigrant experience and of facing the challenges of that experience with authenticity and courage, and of living and seeing the sides of life that so many turn away from.
“His words have connected Irish people all over the globe to their culture and history, encompassing so many human emotions in the most poetic of ways,” Higgens added.
He is survived by his wife Victoria, his sister Siobhan and his father, Maurice. Details regarding a memorial service will be announced in the coming days.
